DHM PANEL SURVEY LOOKS AT HEALTHCARE AND THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

From October 11-14 of 2013, DHM Research conducted an online survey of 375 Oregonians via the DHM Panel on issues related to the government shutdown and healthcare. Survey demographics reflect the Oregon population as a whole. The questionnaire was made available in both English and Spanish. Margin of error: +/-5.1%. Results may add up to 99% or 101% due to rounding. Note: this survey was conducted prior to the resolution of the government shutdown on October 17.

Thanks again to all who participated in this survey. To sign up for the DHM Panel and participate in upcoming surveys click here. There are more interesting surveys to come!

US Politics and the Government Shutdown:

Following are approval ratings for several individuals and institutions.

President Obama: 53% approve vs. 48% disapprove

Governor John Kitzhaber: 53% vs. 41%, with 5% unsure

Congressional Democrats: 46% vs. 49%, with 5% unsure

Congressional Republicans: 28% vs. 68%, with 5% unsure

Senator Ted Cruz: 27% vs. 54%, with 19% unsure

Representative John Boehner: 24% vs. 69%, with 7% unsure

When asked to name who they felt was most responsible for the government shutdown, a majority of Oregonians said Congressional Republicans (52%). Two in ten (20%) said President Obama, while 7% cited Congressional Democrats. An additional 19% said that all groups were equally responsible.

Among Independent voters, 47% cited Congressional Republicans, and 18% said President Obama. Interestingly, 29% of Independents said all groups were equally responsible for the government shutdown (10 points higher than Oregonians overall).

We asked Oregonians from all political parties to select from among a list of potential Republican candidates for the presidential nomination in 2016 who they would like see on the ticket. Chris Christie led the pack, with 28% of Oregonians selecting him as their preferred choice. No other candidate reached 10%.

Christie’s standing was buoyed by Democrats (44%) and Independents (28%), while Republicans were evenly split between a number of candidates, with Paul Ryan earning a slight advantage (15%).

Healthcare:

When asked about their expectations for healthcare in Oregon over the next couple of years, most Oregonians said they felt that the healthcare that is available to them would get worse (40%) rather than better (23%). One-third (32%) felt it would stay the same.

While Democrats and Independents were fairly split on the issue, Republicans were not, with 72% saying they felt the healthcare available to them was likely to get worse.

Notably, among Oregonians without health insurance, a majority (56%) said they felt the healthcare available to them was likely to get worse over the next couple years (16 points higher than Oregonians overall).

Nearly eight in ten (77%) correctly identified Cover Oregon as the group responsible for running Oregon’s online health insurance marketplace, with the remaining 23% either identifying other groups or claiming to be unsure.

Among those ages 18-34, a group thought to contain many low-information voters as well as a significant number of potential enrollees for the healthcare program, 74% correctly identified Cover Oregon.

Among Oregonians who said they were eligible to participate in Cover Oregon, 27% said they would do so, while 63% would not. One in ten (9%) were unsure.

Non-white Oregonian who said they were eligible to participate in Cover Oregon said they would participate in the program at a higher rate than white Oregonians (45% vs. 27%).